TOPIC:

My name is Terry Brewis and I live in Cape Town South Africa.
My great grandfather, John Gillespie was born in Lochmaben, Scotland in 1880.
He and his younger brother James were raised by their single mother, Lilias Gillespie.
in the late 1880s Lilias sought work in Glasgow where she and the children lived in a tenement building in the Gorbals. Lilias worked as a domestic servant and washerwoman. She died in 1893 and in 1896 John joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Seaman. He deserted the Royal Navy in 1899.I have copies of his naval service records.
He later arrived in South Africa where he met my great grandmother in Cape Town. They were married in Somerset West, Cape Colony (where he worked a s a Dynamite Worker) in1906.
The attached picture (which I've attempted to colorize shows him during the Boer War somewhere in what is now South Africa.
I am trying to identify the unit that he served in. It has been suggested that that he may have served in Thornicroft's Mounted Infantry.
Any assistance in this regard will be much appreciated.



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Terry Brewis
There are two men with surname "Gillespie" listed for TMI; John Gillespie, from County Down, Ireland and Thomas Blair Gillespie from Glasgow, Scotland. No fit there.
Have you considered doing a name search through the various mounted colonial units; say the SALH?
Regards
IL.

Terry - using the name search facility on this site gives a large number of combatants answering to the name J/John Gillespie besides 2783 John Gillespie of the TMI who IL has rightly discounted. A transcription record findable on Find My Past also rules him out on age as well as place of origin:

First name(s) John
Last name Gillespie
Birth year 1864
Age 36
Year 1900
Enlistment date 15 Sep 1900
Enlistment place P M Burg
Soldier number 2783
Regiment Thorneycroft's Mounted Infantry
Former service: yes or no Y
Former regiment Imp Bushmen
Nationality British
Height 5 Feet 7 Inches
Weight 158 Ibs
Chest measurement 37-39 Inches
Complexion Fair
Eye colour Grey
Hair colour Brown
Next of kin's title Miss
Next of kin's first name(s) Sarah
Next of kin's last name Hudson
Next of kin's relationship Aunt
Next of kin's address Back Street
Next of kin's town Donaghadee, CO Down, Ireland
Record set British Army, Local Armed Forces' Enrolment Forms, Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902

Regards, David.

Terry, the uniform (as is usual) is common to many units, especially mounted infantry units. The belt buckle is a home made repair to a snake clasp buckle, and suggests a colonial unit, not a regular infantry unit. The breeches look as if meant for horse riding. The slouch hat suggests mounted infantry or colonial forces. The uniform straps are the Slade Wallace pattern and should be buff coloured ( pale grey); the rifle sling buff or brown.
Sorry to be of little help!